Event documents

Participants

Eric Schlosser, Author, Command and ControlDr Ronald Sturm, Head of the Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Unit of the Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs of AustriaHeather Williams, Research Fellow, International Security; Co-author, Too Close for Comfort: Cases of Near Nuclear Use and Options for Policy Chair: Gill Bennett MA OBE, Associate Fellow, RUSI

Overview

Nuclear weapons have not been detonated in conflict since 1945. Yet findings in the recent Chatham House report, Too Close for Comfort: Cases of Near Nuclear Use and Options for Policy, involving evidence from many declassified documents, testimonies and interviews, shows a number of disturbing close calls in which nuclear weapons were nearly used. The expert panel will explore the issues raised in the report and discuss further measures that can be taken by policy-makers and militaries to avert the risk of nuclear detonation, whether inadvertent, accidental or deliberate.